[dnanian]

IMAP doesn't preclude a local archive, of course: it's still there, stored locally (otherwise, you couldn't work offline). It's just mirrored on the server, and synchronizes automatically too. It's quite nice to be able to access the same mail store from any number of devices, computers, or even over the web.

Sounds like you've got a good solution to your problem. Be careful, though: syncing an entire home folder like that is likely to be challenging over time.